The Nether
The Nether, also referred to as "The Nexus" in Notch's and Jeb's Blog on Tumblr, sometimes called "Gate to Inferno Fields" and was previously known as Hell and The Slip, is part of the Minecraft Halloween Update. It exists in a completely different world from the Overworld. The terrain is dimly lit, full of Lava streams flowing from the ceiling, sudden cliffs, and lava lakes, making it extremely dangerous to explore. The ceiling and the base of the Nether are made of Bedrock. Mushrooms are also commonly found. If the player dies in The Nether, they will betransported back to the spawn point in the Overworld, while your items stay in the nether for the normal amount of time. Maps can be made of the Nether, but they can only be created while there. If a player brings a map of the Overworld into the Nether it will stay the same but the marker that represents the player will be absent. Also, sudden bridges and shafts can be found throughout the randomly generated world. You will most likely find the bridge partially destroyed, and the shaft is located near lots of enemies, so watch out. Always carry weapons and bridge repair kits, and useful renewable items with you. Sometimes, the Nether can be classified as useful or exciting, since you can find large quantities of Soul Sand and Glowstone, and you can grow Cacti there. Travel The portals are made by creating a 4x5 (2x3 on inside) or larger door frame out of Obsidian and then lighting the inside of the frame on fire with Flint and Steel or a Fire Charge. The corners of the frame may be left out, using only 10 obsidian as opposed to the usual 14. When you stand inside the portal for the first time, it will create a portal in its equivalent area of The Nether. A loading screen will appear during the change of worlds. A portal can be shut down if part of the obsidian frame is removed (not including corners), or hit by a Ghast fireball. When re-entering the Overworld, any distance covered in The Nether is multiplied by 8, effectively making The Nether a fast-travel zone that allows for greater distances to be covered in a short amount of time in the Overworld. You have to stay in a portal if not it will not teleport the player―in order to use them, the player has to stand still inside the purple haze. A recent update allowed Overworld mobs to go through portals and vice versa. Attempting to go through a portal while in a minecart or on a pig will result in the player needing to restart the game to continue - you can see permanent purple swirls. The same effects happen in the very buggy Far Lands. A useful way to save obsidian is to create a Nether portal with the ordinary 14 blocks, travel to the Nether, remove the corner bits, then travel back to the Overworld and remove the corners there too. Mobs and Enemies Mobs that spawn in the main world do not appear here, except Zombie Pigmen which appear in the Overworld when Pigs are struck by lightning. Instead, there are special mobs that appear only in The Nether (although Ghasts have an extremely small chance of spawning through a portal on the surface world.) * Ghasts ― Flying, jellyfish-like, 4-meter-cubed-sized monsters that shoot fireballs. They can be damaged by any conventional weapons, but they do not get hurt when on Fire. A Ghast can fly into lava falls or lava lakes, but even if they burn they don't get damaged (As of the November 10th Update). The fireballs they shoot can be deflected back at them using a fist or any tool by hitting it just before impact, killing it instantly if it hits (shooting an Arrow or using the Fishing Rod on the fireballs works too). They drop Gunpowder and Ghast Tears. Ghast fireballs cannot destroy Cobblestone. For this reason, many players like to use cobblestone as protection. * Zombie Pigmen ― Docile (like wolves), humanoid creatures that turn hostile only when attacked. They now drop Rotten Flesh and Gold Nuggets and sometimes the Golden swords when killed. A rare drop is a Gold Ingot. It is possible to obtain an Enchanted Gold Sword from them, but it is an extremely rare drop. They wield Gold Swords, and cause 2.5 damage. Attacking one causes all nearby Zombie Pigmen to attack you too, also like Overworld´s Wolves. They are immune to both Fire and Lava. * Blaze ― A hostile flying mob that appears in Nether Fortresses. They shoot 3 fireballs, unlike a Ghast however, they do not cause explosions on impact. They drop Blaze Rods. Blazes cannot shoot when their Fires are out, they can re-light their Fire eventually or instantly if they touch Fire or Lava. * Magma Cube ― The nether's equivalent of a Slime. When Magma Cubes jump they will show their layers. Like other Nether mobs, they are immune to both Fire and Lava. When killed, they split into 1-4 smaller versions of themselves. They are commonly found in lava oceans due to them hopping in a straight line until encountering the player ** Wither Skeleton ― A variant of the skeleton found in the overworld. These black skeletons are found on or around a Nether Fortress carrying stone swords. They drop coal, bones, and rarely, stone swords and Wither Skeleton Skulls. *** Skeletons - Rarely, they have a 20% chance to spawn in the nether replacing the Wither Skeleton.Category:Minecraft Dimensions Blocks Blocks can be brought to and from the Overworld. So far, there are seven block types only found in The Nether: *** Netherrack- This block burns infinitely, and is the main block type forming the Nether. Setting these on Fire while travelling in The Nether is a great way to save on Torches. *** Glowstone- A golden block that acts like a torch, commonly found as stalactites on the ceiling of the Nether. These can be used as a light source underwater in the Overworld, and the Glowstone Dust produced when it is mined is an ingredient in making Potions and Redstone Lamps. *** Soul Sand- A brown block. When walked on, it slows the movement speed of the player and mobs that walk across it, and makes them sink down slightly, as Soul Sand is only 7/8 the size of other blocks. It can be used to create minecart-only passageways and docks, as well as one way doors. It's slowing effect is doubled if an Ice block is placed under it. Some pixel-souls can be seen on this block. **** Nether Brick- A dark purple stone that superficially resembles bricks. Nether brick can be used to make Nether fence, and can be broken easily with a stone pickaxe. It is the main building block of a Nether Fortress. **** Nether Brick Fence- A dark purple fence. It can be mined in Nether Fortresses, or can be created from six Nether brick pieces. **** Nether Brick Stairs- A dark purple stair. It can be mined in Nether Fortresses, or can be created from six Nether Bricks. **** Nether Quartz Ore- The only ore that can be found within the Nether. The minimum level required to mine it is Iron. Unlike other ores, instead of the ore being embedded in stone, Nether Quartz is embedded inside of netherrack. Nether Quartz can be used to craft a block form of itself, Redstone Comparators and Daylight Sensors. There are currently 5 blocks that spawn both in the Nether and in the Overworld **** Gravel- A block found in large quantities on the 'beaches' on the Nether. **** Bedrock- An indestructible stone found separating the Nether from the void and the area above the Nether. Breaking the bedrock at the top of the world in creative mode, however, gives you a large space to build, as the only thing that spawns on the roof of the nether are Mushrooms **** Mushrooms- Both red and brown mushrooms spawn commonly in the nether. They can also be found growing on the roof of the Nether. **** Lava- Unlike the Overworld, which contains pools of lava, the Nether contains massive oceans of lava. This makes for an easy source of fuel for furnaces. Most of the large open areas in the nether contain a large lava lake/ocean under them. **** Chests- Nether fortresses contain loot chests in the corners of the halls. These chests can contain anything from gold ingots to diamond horse armor. Water cannot be brought to The Nether and all water placed will evaporate immediately due to the extreme heat and will instead turn into steam. However, you will have no problem placing lava in the Nether and placing an ice block will have no effect. As of current updates you are no longer able to have ice melt into water, instead the block of ice leaves nothing behind upon breaking. Etymology The Nether's name is derived from the English word "Ether", meaning "In the outer reaches of space or in the heavens", or "nowhere known" + an N. Nether could similarly be derived from a mythical location known as the "netherworld", usually depicted as a place where the wicked go when they decease. Source: ☀http://minecraft.wikia.com/wiki/The_Nether